


better with you (stardust)

by meltingheart



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: Giant Robots, Near Death Experiences, Nonbinary Yellow, Other, Red And Green Are Subtextually In Love But Haven't Confessed, Space Opera, un-betaed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 02:22:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19736419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meltingheart/pseuds/meltingheart
Summary: a little departure from my usual uploads! i took a trip down memory lane and discovered this old space opera AU i made of pokespe in 2016. this is all i've written, and i have fond memories of how proud i was of it at the time of writing - don't want to beta it at risk of losing the charm it had for me then. maybe someday i'll actually go back to it and write it as the sprawling longfic i dreamed it would be...anyways, these scenes all occur at one of the rising action's climaxes... i hope it makes sense. beyond that... i'll be happy to answer any questions you have about it!





	better with you (stardust)

**Author's Note:**

> a little departure from my usual uploads! i took a trip down memory lane and discovered this old space opera AU i made of pokespe in 2016. this is all i've written, and i have fond memories of how proud i was of it at the time of writing - don't want to beta it at risk of losing the charm it had for me then. maybe someday i'll actually go back to it and write it as the sprawling longfic i dreamed it would be... 
> 
> anyways, these scenes all occur at one of the rising action's climaxes... i hope it makes sense. beyond that... i'll be happy to answer any questions you have about it!

When they’re called into Lance’s personal office, Red knows that they’re in for something big. Missions are usually given out in the mornings on the bridge, not in the late evening, and never here. It’s usually not safe to give them out privately, because then the other pilots won’t be prepared for a rescue if it becomes necessary. 

Green, standing besides him, is stiff as a board when Lance passes the two manila folders stamped “TOP SECRET” over the table to them. Red is overcome with a sense of dread when he reads the words. In combination with this unconventional meeting, it’s… foreboding. He looks over at Green, aiming to see what he thinks, but the other pilot’s expression gives away nothing, and he doesn’t turn to look back at him. 

The mission’s a simple one, Red sees as soon as he reads the first page, which is marked with the barest parameters, but the person whose name is scribbled in the “AIM TO KILL” box makes Red pause. “Lance… you want us to go after Archer? So soon?”

Lance nods deftly, sliding his gaze between Green and Red. “You two are our strongest fighters, and one of our best teams. We can’t afford to give up the opportunity we have to take him out now, even if it is a little ahead of schedule. Dismissed.” 

Red frowns, but as much as he’d like to, now’s not the time to argue with his commanding officer. Green seems to realize that too, as he just nods and then cocks his head at Red, gesturing for them to get to their Pokemon. 

As soon as they’re out of earshot, trotting down the corridors to the mech holding decks, Green says, “We need to be on the ball with this one, Red. No goofing off or sparing people just because you feel pity for them. This isn’t some gym leader who’ll cower and piss their pants as soon as we have them in custody and Lance tries to have them executed.”

With a scowl, Red mutters, “You think I don’t know that? I’m not some naive kid, Green. I’m not going into this one with any intent but to kill. And you shouldn’t, either. I know you’re softer than you like to let on.” 

Green just huffs, clearly (and unfortunately, Red feels) abandoning the argument, and they’re soon off, having suited up and calibrated their mechs to exchange diagnostics better during the flight. It’s a long way over, which gives Red some time to think and discuss with Poli before they actually get there. 

Poli thinks that this is a bad idea, and from what Red can gather from their second-hand connection through Poli, Charizard seems to think so too. Archer’s way stronger and has years of battle experience over them, and even though Poli has the advantage over Houndoom, there’s no way it’d be enough. Red doesn’t even have to think about it to agree. They’re not ready for this. But there’s no other choice - it’s either this, or lose any chance at attacking the higher-ups of Team Rocket for the foreseeable future. 

Red wishes he knew how Green felt about it, if he was confident or just as doubtful of their success. Green is the strategy to Red’s innovation, though, always searching for the best combined outcome. As sour and pessimistic he could be as a person, he’d be bound to find the most optimistic mindset for battle. All Red has to do is trust his instructions, do what he said when it really mattered, and they’d be fine. And for the rest of the fight… his hands tighten around the controls. He could figure that out along the way. 

4 minutes until they come into firing range of Archer’s bunker, a tiny cargo ship in the middle of the Ilex Strait filled with nothing but typical Pokemart fare, and Green pings him over the intercom. “Red. I’ve thought of the plan.” He pauses, seeming to wait for a reply, and then steamrolls over Red’s acknowledging grunt regardless, “I’m going to go in with Charizard first. We’re going to attack the ship, and you’re going to stay back here, out of range. Once Archer comes out, we’ll fire off some hits, and then you need to be ready to come in behind us with Poli. Poli’s water blasters are the key to winning this, so don’t be late. Got it?” 

Red switches on the visual interface, nods into it. There’s no point in talking for him, now - anything he needs to say can easily be conveyed through gesture or action, and talking would only make him blurt out questions and retorts to the exceedingly (worryingly, unnervingly) simple strategy Green’s thought up this time. Green catches his eye, doesn’t comment on the hesitation that he must be seeing there, and then switches the intercom and its visuals back off, shooting away from his position to the front-left of Poli and into the distance. 

Red breathes out, steadying himself. Soon they’d see for real if they were really strong enough to take down Archer. There wasn’t any point in worrying over it for the time being. 

So he sits there, and he waits for Green’s signal, watching as Charizard shoots blast after blast of concentrated fire at the cargo ship, watching as Houndoom slithers out from the rear loading dock, sleek and dark, its white decorations all the more foreboding against the void of space. Whatever effect Archer tries to draw from his opponents with a mech design like that, Red thinks he’s achieved it. 

He approaches slowly, aiming to avoid detection, slipping up behind Houndoom even as Green fires off more shots. Houndoom dodges them easily, twisting and flowing around them like it’s made of liquid rather than metal, but the point here isn’t to connect - it’s to distract. Charizard’s wings flare out twice in rapid succession during a lull in the action. Green’s usual signal. Red breathes in once more, and opens fire, aiming for Houndoom’s thick torso. 

Everything goes off without a hitch, much to Red’s secret relief. His attacks make contact and Poli’s filmy water sprays coat Houndoom’s joints, restricting its movements. By the time Archer manages to maneuver it to face Red, Green’s blasters are charged again, and Red takes his turn facing the brunt of the attacks while Charizard lights Houndoom on fire. Poli starts to creak in response to the heat of Houndoom’s own fire, and Red can almost smell the burning metal and plastic, but Poli assures him through their link that it’ll be fine. They’ve been through worse, before, and this is certainly nothing they can’t handle. Red agrees, concern barely influencing his actions as he dives closer, aiming to take out Houndoom’s fire jets, or at least close its mouth before it can set off more of them.  _ Lessening the damage either of us take would be a huge plus right now _ , he muses,  _ especially considering the hits Poli’s already taken _ \--

Just as Red is about to press the button to shoot, his line of sight is filled with a trail of purple metal, curving as it tries to coil around him, and Red rears back in confusion, Poli’s joints groaning in protest as he does. 

As fast as he can, because this certainly wasn’t in the information he’d skimmed over as he’d shoved himself into his flight suit and Poli’s sounding way worse than he’d ideally prefer him to when they get jumped by another enemy, he flips the intercom switch and shouts, “Green! What the hell is going on?” 

“I don’t know!” Green shouts back, voice crackling and fizzing out at the end. And  _ shit, _ Poli wasn’t supposed to have taken this much damage, if Green knew how bad it really was he’d be tearing his hair out trying to work around it. “It might be,” he pauses, sounding strained, and then continues, “Ariana? Maybe?! It’s an Arbok, I know that much, just try and get away from it!”

Red obeys without thinking, would’ve obeyed even without knowing the command, because everything in him is telling him to  _ run,  _ to  _ get away, now,  _ and the Arbok’s fake face is laughing up at him even as he fires Poli’s front propulsion and jets backwards. 

He’s forgotten to turn off the intercom, and Green’s muttering fills the tense silence in Poli’s cockpit, frantic, half-formed strategies abandoned mid-sentence. Red knows to tune this part out, it’s happened every time they’re in a tight spot, yet he can’t help but keep an ear focused on Green’s rambling, just in case. 

After a minute or so of backing up, Green falls silent, and Red watches as Charizard dances around Houndoom’s unrelenting fire, Arbok’s jaws snapping shut mere seconds after Charizard moves out of their path. 

“Red, I’m backing out,” Green suddenly says, jolting Red out of his tense detachment. “You need to keep attacking Houndoom. I’ll focus on Ariana, just try to do as much damage as you can. Whenever it’s too much, run. I’ll be on your tail when you do.” Green cuts off the transmission immediately afterwards, leaving Red no room to do anything except obey, because if he did anything but, it could get either of them killed. 

Poli’s handed over most of its autonomy to Red by this point, but Red can’t help but allow it to exert some control over its own body as they try to maneuver back around to be opposite of Green. They’d drifted too close during Charizard’s struggle, and knowing Green, he’d try to lure Ariana and Archer into two separate directions, to lessen the chance of one interfering with the other’s fight. As usual, not the best of Green’s strategic decisions, but Red’s willing to let it go, seeing as the diagnostics Poli’d been sending off to Charizard wouldn’t document the full extent of the fire damage, and Green wouldn’t know to work around it. 

Houndoom takes the bait, lunging towards Poli’s drifting, weakened form, and Red grins with all his teeth, firing off the blasters with full charge. They make contact with its gaping jaw, just as he’d aimed for last time, but they’re too close to avoid Houndoom’s teeth clamping shut around the metal and artificial flesh of Poli’s left leg, ripping it off and flinging it off to the side. 

“Shit,” Red mutters, talking only to Poli, now. “Hang in there, bud, we’re gonna finish this in the next blow!” He directs his focus to Houndoom’s neck, dripping with water, and Poli’s understanding filters back through the link. Archer’s cockpit was no doubt somewhere in that area. If they hit it just right… 

Poli charges its fist this time, reeling it back like a baseball pitcher as it shoots off more pressurized water from its blasters, trying to preoccupy Archer. Its aim is off, focused as they both are on their next attack, and fire swirls around them, burning Poli’s armor and shooting up the exposed corridor of panelling and wiring on its upper leg. 

Flashing warnings begin to overlay Red’s visual display, but he ignores them, hands tensing around the controls as the charge reaches its peak. With a harsh motion, he pushes them as far forward as they can go even as he lets go of them, and Poli swings, Mega Punch connecting with the side of Houndoom’s jaw where it meets the neck. 

Red grins, victory assured, now, and reaches to flip on the intercom before taking the controls again. “Green, I think I got him!” He says, bringing Poli to a careful stop as he checks the most recent diagnostics from it and Charizard. Poli’s damage contained to mainly the left side, some damage taken from the force of the Mega Punch, but nothing too severe. No oxygen loss, and that’s what really matters. Charizard was faring about the same, with severe damage to the tail and wings, but they’d be able to take Arbok and ensure that both executives died. 

“Better check, Red,” Green mutters in response, and Red squints into the distance to try and see how he’s faring against Ariana. Not well, based on the tiny blobs of color he’s seeing. “If you don’t have a confirmed kill, he’s as good as alive.” 

“I know, I know, but you look like you could use some help. Sure you don’t want me to fly over there and save your sorry butt real fast?” 

Green snorts. “Please. I’m not some damsel waiting for my prince, Red. Get back to your own fight.” He flips off the intercom again before Red has a chance to retort, and Red huffs, turning his focus back to the void directly in front of him. 

Only to find Houndoom’s maw wide open, previous damage seeming to not have any real effect on it as it aims towards him, a Fire Blast almost fully charged and ready to fire at point-blank range. 

Red’s trapped. He’s trapped, he realizes, he was stupid to take his attention off what was in front of him and now he’s gonna die and that’s the end of it. If he backs up, Houndoom’s fire will still reach him, it’s Newton’s First Law in action. If he swerves to avoid it, he might be able to barely dodge, but not for long - Houndoom will still be nearby, ready to strike with slashing teeth instead of fire. Maybe if he went diagonally? 

But there’s no time for any further consideration on it. Grabbing onto the only plausible idea he’s got to use, Red swerves backwards and to the left, aiming to get as far out of Houndoom’s range of fire as fast as he can. Poli responds in kind, following his thoughts and firing even its water blasters in an effort to get some more momentum. Almost frantically, Red flips the intercom again, cursing Green for constantly shutting it off even as he does so. “Green! Something’s gone wrong - Archer is - he’s alive! He’s attacking me, fuck, shit, I can’t get away -” 

Red’s voice dies as he sees Houndoom fire off the Fire Blast, unable to respond to Green’s panicked questions. Houndoom’s still far too close to him, Poli tried so hard to get them away but it just wasn’t enough, and now it’s going to hit them. The fire is blinding as it expands into its characteristic kanji shape, its heat whiting out the connection between him and Poli as it slams into their right side, searing it through with raw pain, and through the sensation Red hears a tortured scream he can only assume is his own.

And then it’s all black. 

* * *

2:30 A.M. and they receive the report on the Victory Road.

Mission failed, and the following struggle drifted them into a small meteor belt. Severe damage to Charizard; Poli completely destroyed. Poli’s emergency escape pod, which Red should have been in, nowhere to be found.

They storm out of the bridge against the worried protests of Blue, who tells them to  _ stop and wait for more information, Green’ll take care of this, they don’t need more mechs flying out there to become sitting ducks for Archer or Saturn _ .

They barely stop to stuff on their boots and helmet before jumping into Pika’s cockpit, long ponytail almost catching in the hatch as it closes behind them.

They can’t sit on their asses and wait for Green to save the day. Pika’s processes seem to agree, its determination filtering into their connection strong and harsh as it powers on; so they  _ don’t _ sit on their asses and wait.

2:43 A.M. shines red in the blurred-out corner of their visor and they’re gunning, gunning, gunning, forcing Pika to tear through the thick darkness and dodge by slow-moving asteroids faster than they ever have before, their grip white-knuckled on the thrusters. Chunks of burnt metal begin to zoom into their line of sight, twisted into sharp, awful shapes so unlike Poli’s gently curved slopes, and they know they’re getting close.

They shouldn’t have let this happen.

They should’ve volunteered to go as secondary back-up as soon as they found out Red was on this mission.

But Lance wouldn’t have let them, would he?  _ Too weak, too kind _ , he’d mutter at their suggestion,  _ not right for this mission at all _ .

Better to only send Green, merciless and calculating in the heat of battle, not awarded the title of Victory Road’s best strategist for nothing. Better to send Green, who sometimes got so caught up in the moment that he forgot that he wasn’t going solo right then, that he had to focus on two people’s fights this time. Better to send Green, who could have caused Red’s death in his carelessness. 

They grit their teeth, trying to force the thrusters even further forward as they scan the blackness for Charizard. 

They’re disobeying orders now, they know. Lance and Blue call in over and over through the intercom, yelling in increasingly frantic voices for them to return, for them to  _ stop,  _ saying  _ they’ll get Red later, it’ll be okay and Green will come back with Red in tow and it’ll all be fine, they’ll both be fine _ . But they can’t stop, regardless.

Yellow’s quickly discovering that doing the right thing doesn’t mean adhering to others’ suggestions and plans all the time.

* * *

It takes a while for them to find Charizard, which is hidden behind the shell of a destroyed cargo ship, and Green won’t respond to anything they say to him once they do, pings falling on unhearing ears. 

After nearly ten minutes of pestering, (ten minutes during which Red might’ve died, assuming he hadn’t already) Yellow finally gets him to offer up key details the frantic and jumbled report hadn’t offered. _ Ariana was there. Poli was trapped. Charizard was trapped. No way out. _

Yellow asks Green where Poli was when it got destroyed, throat closing up towards the end, and Green just uses Charizard’s wing to silently gesture vaguely towards the left of them. 

Yellow and Pika zoom off without any hesitation, carefully scanning the area for the telltale capsule. If Ariana or Archer come back, Green can handle them on his own. Yellow isn’t here for anyone else but Red, and their ability to care about Green, especially, is pretty much shot. 

As they search the wreckage, Yellow pings base, and gets Crystal, of all people. “Aren’t you supposed to be training right now?” They ask as her face pops up in the corner of her visor. 

“Yeah, well,” Crystal scratches the back of her head. “After this whole debacle with you and Red, Silver got sent back to his quarters, and me and Gold were ordered up here. You know, just in case we’re needed. This isn’t exactly standard mission procedure, you know!”

Yellow’s silent for a minute, focusing on a rounded piece of metal which might be Poli’s hand, or might be Red’s capsule. Eventually, they reply, “Green told me some more info. It might be important. Ariana showed up and ambushed them, and Green split them up to fight one-on-one. They were both trapped, and then…” They trail off, not needing to say any more. 

The look on Crys’s face, when they take a second to notice it, is intense, but calm. “I understand. I’ll pass it on. If you need any assistance, me and Megaree are on call.” Yellow states a denial, and Crys cuts the connection, leaving Yellow alone with space again. 

They can’t say they enjoy the feeling. If Red’s still conscious... Well, Yellow just hopes he isn’t, for now. At least they have Pika’s link; Red would have nothing but his thoughts and his pain if he were still awake. (If he’s even still alive, they don’t even dare to think.)

They spend a good fifteen minutes inspecting every piece of wreckage they come across, when they get a ping from Charizard. Curiously, but still with a lingering irritation, Yellow opens it, and Green’s voice comes through. “I’ve found him, I think.” 

“What? But you said he was over here!” Yellow retorts. “Are you sure it’s him, and not something else?” 

Green sighs, but his response isn’t filled with the same teasing meanness that Yellow’s used to from him. “If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have pinged you. Just get over here, okay? I’m around five minutes to your right.”

Yellow cuts the connection and zooms to the right. They’re still cautious about all of this - if Ariana or Archer showed back up, they’d be toast before any of them could do anything. Best to get out of there as soon as possible, really. 

Upon coming up to Green, they notice two heavy pieces of metal in Charizard’s arms, one shaped like a capsule would be, and the other seeming to just be a plain piece of scrap. Yellow considers questioning it, but says nothing as they open up the connection and ask, “It’s him?” 

Green makes an affirmative hum, drifting closer. “He was barely conscious when I found him. Extremely out of it, but … I got him to say something to me. So. I know it’s him.” Yellow isn’t sure whether the lengthy pauses between words are Green actually not talking or a problem with the ping system, but they, again, decide not to say anything. 

Yellow doesn’t say anything more, just leading them back to the Victory Road as best they can with the updated coordinates received from Crys during their conversation. Whatever Green’s problem is, they’re still not convinced that he couldn’t have done better. But it could be saved for later. When Red wasn’t in imminent danger, when they weren’t floating adrift in the middle of a void of space, alone together. 

* * *

It's been three weeks. Green hasn't left the room Red's been kept in, has sat there like an immovable gargoyle as nurses cart around monitors and the other Dex holders come in to check up on him. 

He can't leave Red alone in there. If Red woke up alone, would he think it's all another coma-induced dream? Green's studied quite a bit on effects of comas on unconscious brain activity in the last few weeks. Coma dreams are fucking terrifying. 

Lance's started to give up hope. Says it's tragic, says that he's lost his best pilot over a stupid mistake (a stupid mistake that  _ Green made _ ). Started to organize missions months in advance without accounting for Red's return to action, started to train Gold as his successor of sorts. 

Green's starting to hate him for giving up so soon. (Starting to hate himself, for letting it happen. For every antagonistic comment he’s ever said, for every time he’d made them split up and Red had managed to slip out of a bad situation unharmed.)

Yellow's blamed themself so strongly they've started to keep away from the medical ward entirely, even when they're injured in training, because if they didn't they'd burst into tears. Always acting like it's their fault that Red got frozen and his mech got wrecked, like Red's doomed forever. Always glaring spitefully at Green regardless, even though they claim it’s their fault, not his. 

Green knows the truth. It's his fault. No one else's. 

He could've been right there besides Red, should've been -- they're always partners in these things, watching each other’s backs even as they act like they hate each other, and yet Green was distracted in the action. He couldn't even remember why he had been, now. It must've been over something stupid. No matter if he’d saved his own life or successfully prevented Red from dying, Red had almost died.  _ Because of him.  _ Because he decided that they should split up. Because he wasn’t paying close enough attention to the other part of the fight.

Lost in his thoughts as he is, Green almost misses it when Red's hand tightens slightly around his. (And when did that happen? Green doesn't remember taking Red's hand today, just like he didn't remember taking it yesterday or the day before.)

But he doesn't miss it, and his head snaps up to see a subdued smile. "Hey... Green. There you are."

"You..." Green feels winded, breathless all of a sudden. "You're awake? Holy shit."

Red's face looks tired, and his voice is sluggish, but his eyes are so alive. "Yea...h? Was I knocked out long or something?" 

"You were in a  _ coma  _ for  _ three weeks _ , dude," Green splutters, squeezing Red's hand tighter. 

"Oh," comes the very lame reply. "Why? I get passing out, but...?" 

"I'll... tell you later, okay? After you get some more rest?"  _ Does Red even remember what happened _ , he wonders. If he doesn’t, should Green even tell him? No. Surely it’s better to be honest and tell the truth, tell him how sorry he is. 

"Green." Red's eyes are like fire, now, and Green's never felt so relieved to see that look. "I want to know."

"...There was," Green closes his eyes, tries to formulate the sentence in the way he wants to. He can’t get the words he really wants to speak out, but he needs to at least get the bare facts out of the way. "An unexpected attack. Poli was almost completely destroyed  _ and I know it's upsetting but _ me and Yellow managed to get there just after your emergency escape capsule ran out of air and heat, so there wasn't much damage to you."  _ Luckily _ , he doesn't add, but his hand tightens a little more all the same. 

"Poli..." Red's eyebrows furrow. "He was. He's dead?" 

Green nods. Red's face falls, and he stares at his feet poking out of the edge of the blanket. 

"I saved some of him. It was supposed to be an in-and-out mission, but I took a piece anyways," Green says. "Took about ten extra minutes to find you after the detour, but if you want it, I'll give it to you when you're out of here."

"Yes."

Red's silent for a while, then, periodically wiggling his toes and tapping his fingers against the back of Green's hand. Even right after waking up from a coma, to remember to check himself for proper nerve function... Red's good. Green watches him for a while, leaning forward and resting his head on top of his free arm. "I can't believe you're alive," he murmurs, the words slipping out before he can think about them. 

Red's eyes meet his, silently asking for him to go on. So he does. "I thought you wouldn't wake up for a while. Everyone else seems to be convinced about it."

The room falls silent, again, and they both sit there, listening to the blips of the machines and their breathing. Red’s eyes slip closed, and Green says, in a moment of confidence, “I’m sorry.” 

“Why?” Red looks at him, again. “It wasn’t your fault. I remember that much.” 

“It  _ was _ , though, Red. If I’d stayed and fought Archer with you… If we hadn’t split up…”

“Then we’d both be in hospital beds, or worse. It’s no big deal, Green, really.” Red squeezes Green’s hand and then loosens. “I know how you feel, anyways. And it’s okay.” 

Green frowns. Surely it isn’t, though? Yellow hates him, Lance is placing all the blame on him… but Red would just forgive him so easily? He doesn’t understand. “Red…”

"I don't really want them to know I'm awake yet," Red mumbles, interrupting him like he so often did to Red. "Being awake, talking to one person at a time... I just want to get used to that again first, before everyone comes in shouting and urging me to get back to work." 

Green huffs. "Lance's too busy forming all his plans around you being MIA and training You 2.0 to force you out into the field." 

"Me 2.0?" Red echoes, eyebrows raised, a faint smirk curling his lips. 

"Gold. Lance decided that since you were assumed dead someone else had to become the Best Dex Holder Ever." Said with appropriate eye-rolling. "I’m obviously out of the running, since they haven't been able to make me leave this room for a while." 

"Wow," Red murmurs, "you really all thought I was dead?"

Green hums in response. "But you're not. And," he checks his watch, "it's almost time for the nurses to check your IV fluid, so if you don't want anyone knowing you're awake, you better fall back asleep fast." 

Red grimaces and looks down at his arms, then at the room around him, seeming to have just noticed that he's hooked up to five machines at once. "Eugh, can I just pretend?"

  
  



End file.
